Establishing a Narrative

Historical fiction breathes life into the past in ways textbooks simply can't. When we add characters and conflicts to historical events, we see them from fresh, engaging perspectives that make them memorable.

A narrative is more than just a story—it's an impactful tale with relatable characters facing meaningful challenges. Historical fiction specifically places readers in another time period while accurately reflecting that era's language, traditions, and practices. Your task will be to create a historical fiction narrative that thoughtfully combines literary elements with historical context.

When selecting your historical setting, consider exploring lesser-known figures or events. The Tudor period (1485-1603) offers dramatic possibilities with Henry VIII's six marriages and Elizabeth I surviving nine assassination attempts. The American Revolution provides opportunities beyond the famous figures—like 16-year-old Sybil Ludington who rode twice as far as Paul Revere or James Armistead Lafayette, a Black double agent who exposed Benedict Arnold.

Remember: Every historical event has multiple perspectives! Consider whose viewpoints you'll present in your narrative—different generations, opposing sides of a conflict, or contrasting social positions will add depth to your story.

Your narrative needs a solid plot structure with all the essential literary elements: exposition introducing characters and setting, rising action developing the conflict, a climax where the protagonist makes a crucial decision, falling action showing consequences, and a resolution that brings closure.

Plot Structure and Characters

The plot of your narrative is the foundation that supports all other elements. It follows a predictable pattern that helps readers understand where the story is going.

The exposition introduces your characters and setting, providing necessary background information. This is where you establish the historical context of your story. Next comes the rising action, where conflict appears and tension builds. Your characters must respond to these growing challenges.

The climax represents the turning point where your protagonist makes a crucial choice to solve their conflict. This isn't necessarily the most exciting part—it's the moment of decision. The falling action shows the consequences of this decision, and the resolution brings closure while revealing the story's theme or message.

Your historical fiction narrative needs compelling characters to engage readers. The protagonist is your main character facing a conflict, while the antagonist creates obstacles (this could be another person, nature, society, or even internal struggles). You'll also need to decide if your characters will be round (complex) or flat (simple), dynamic (changing) or static (unchanging).

Pro tip: The climax isn't always the most exciting part of your story—it's when your protagonist makes the critical decision that will resolve their conflict. This moment should feel natural based on everything that happened in your exposition and rising action.

When planning your narrative, sketch out your plot structure and consider how much time your protagonist needs to develop their conflict before reaching the climax.

Literary Elements in Historical Fiction

Creating effective historical fiction requires thoughtful use of literary elements to transport readers to another time while keeping them emotionally invested.

Your narrative's character development is crucial. The protagonist (main character) faces a conflict that drives the story, while the antagonist (person, force, or situation) creates obstacles. Decide whether your characters will be round (complex with multiple traits) or flat (simple with limited traits), and dynamic (changing throughout the story) or static (remaining the same).

Conflict gives your story purpose and direction. You might include character vs. character conflicts (people opposing each other), character vs. nature (battling environmental forces), character vs. self (internal struggles), character vs. society (challenging cultural norms), character vs. supernatural (confronting mysterious forces), or character vs. technology (struggling with machines or innovations).

Your setting does more than just establish time and place—it shapes your characters' behaviors, decisions, and challenges. For historical fiction, accurately representing the era's customs, language, and social norms is essential. Consider how the historical context, mood, specific locations, social environment, and even weather will influence your story.

Writing tip: While developing complex characters and conflicts is important, always keep your theme in mind. From the first paragraph, your narrative should be building toward the message or lesson you want readers to take away.

Make sure every element of your story works together to create a cohesive narrative that reveals something meaningful about human experience through a historical lens.

Point of View and Setting

Choosing the right point of view for your historical fiction narrative significantly impacts how readers experience your story.

With first person narration, your character tells their own story using "I" and "we." This creates immediate intimacy with readers who experience events through the character's eyes, thoughts, and feelings. However, you're limited to only what this character knows and perceives.

Second person narration (using "you") makes readers feel like they're part of the story, but it's rarely used in fiction because it's difficult to sustain without becoming awkward.

Third person limited narration follows one character's perspective but uses "he," "she," or "they." This allows you to reveal your character's thoughts while maintaining some narrative distance. The downside is being confined to one perspective that may be biased.

Third person omniscient narration can reveal any character's thoughts and show events happening anywhere. While this offers flexibility, it can confuse readers if you shift perspectives too abruptly.

Your setting plays a crucial role in historical fiction. Consider how the historical context shapes your characters' values and actions. Think about the mood you want to create through your setting descriptions. Be specific about place and time, both geographically and historically. Include details about the social environment (religion, culture, class) and even how weather might affect your story.

Historical accuracy matters: Research the customs, language, technology, and social norms of your chosen time period. Small details like how people traveled, what they ate, or how they spoke will make your narrative feel authentic to readers.

Remember that your setting should never just be a backdrop—it should actively shape your characters and their conflicts.

Types of Conflict and Theme

Conflict drives your historical fiction narrative forward and helps develop your characters and theme. You might include several types in your story, but make sure each serves a purpose.

In character vs. character conflicts, people oppose each other based on differing needs, wants, or beliefs. Historical fiction often features this through family disputes, romantic rivalries, or political enemies. Character vs. nature places your protagonist against environmental forces like storms, harsh landscapes, or natural disasters—common challenges throughout history.

Character vs. self explores internal struggles such as guilt, fear, or moral dilemmas, while character vs. society pits individuals against prevailing social norms, laws, or institutions. Both are especially powerful in historical settings where values often differed from modern perspectives. Less common but still effective are character vs. supernatural (involving unexplained phenomena) and character vs. technology (particularly relevant for stories set during periods of technological change).

Your narrative's theme is its underlying message or universal truth. Though revealed last in the story, it should be the first thing you consider when planning. Every aspect of your narrative—from characters to conflicts—should contribute to developing this theme.

Theme development tip: Ask yourself: What message will resonate with my audience? What universal human experience am I exploring through this historical moment? How will my characters' perspectives and conflicts reveal this theme naturally?

When selecting your theme, consider what lessons your readers might connect with and how you can build this message consistently from beginning to end.

Narrative Structure and Historical Context

When writing historical fiction, understanding how to structure your narrative is as important as knowing the historical period you're portraying.

Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales provides an excellent example of historical narrative structure. Written in Middle English, this collection features multiple characters telling their own stories during a pilgrimage. Chaucer uses a frame story approach to present diverse perspectives from medieval society while satirizing the social classes of his time.

Your narrative structure should similarly support the historical context you've chosen. Consider which point of view best serves your story's purpose. First person creates intimacy but limits perspective, while third person offers flexibility but may create emotional distance. Each has advantages worth weighing before you begin writing.

Think about how your narrative will convey historical authenticity. Will you incorporate period-appropriate language without making it difficult for modern readers? How will you present multiple perspectives on the historical event you're depicting? What literary elements will create artistic unity throughout your story?

Planning question: What form will your narrative take? A traditional short story, a series of journal entries, letters between characters, or something else entirely? The form should complement both your historical setting and the perspectives you want to share.

Before finalizing your plan, make sure you've clearly identified your setting, characters, conflicts, and theme. Each element should work together to transport readers to another time while showing them something meaningful about human experience.

Narrative Techniques for Historical Fiction

Bringing your historical fiction to life requires more than just facts—you need narrative techniques that make readers feel immersed in another time period.

Description uses sensory details and language to paint a vivid picture. In historical fiction, descriptions should include period-specific details about clothing, architecture, technology, and social customs. These details reveal character perspectives—what one character notices, another might ignore.

Dialogue advances your plot while revealing character personalities and attitudes. Historical dialogue should feel authentic to the era without becoming difficult for modern readers to understand. Consider how social class, education, and regional differences affected how people spoke.

Flashbacks allow you to incorporate relevant past events into your narrative. This technique is particularly useful in historical fiction for providing background on how historical events affected your characters before your story begins.

Other powerful techniques include foreshadowing (hinting at future developments), juxtaposition (placing contrasting elements side by side), pacing (controlling the speed of your story), and stream of consciousness (revealing a character's internal thoughts).

Authenticity tip: Blend historical facts with fiction seamlessly. If writing about a World War I nurse, research actual medical practices and battlefield conditions, then use dialogue, descriptions, and appropriate pacing to make these facts come alive through your character's experiences.

Choose three narrative techniques that will work best for your historical setting and practice incorporating them into your exposition and rising action. The right techniques will make historical events feel immediate and personal to your readers.

Developing the Middle of Your Narrative

The middle of your historical fiction narrative is where you develop your conflict and build toward the climax—it's what keeps readers engaged and invested in your characters.

In this section, you'll establish your protagonist's goal clearly, then place obstacles in their path. These obstacles—whether other characters, societal norms, natural forces, or internal doubts—create the conflict that drives your story forward. As your rising action progresses, the conflict should intensify, creating mounting tension.

Your climax represents the turning point where your protagonist makes a significant decision about how to resolve their conflict. This moment doesn't need to be dramatic or action-packed—it just needs to represent a crucial choice that changes the direction of your story.

Throughout the middle of your narrative, continue developing multiple perspectives on the historical events you're depicting. Use narrative techniques like dialogue, description, and flashbacks to show how different characters experience and interpret these events.

Visualization exercise: Imagine your narrative as a film. Would viewers remain engaged throughout these middle scenes? Are your conflicts believable given the historical context? Do your characters' motivations make sense based on what you've established about them?

Remember that in narrative writing, unlike real life, conflict is necessary—without it, there is no story. Make sure your middle section introduces meaningful conflict, develops it naturally, and leads to a climax that feels both surprising and inevitable given what came before.

Crafting Satisfying Endings

The ending of your historical fiction narrative should provide meaningful closure and reveal your theme. A poor ending can leave readers frustrated, no matter how strong the rest of your story.

The falling action shows the consequences of your protagonist's decision at the climax. This is where loose ends begin to come together and the impact of historical events on your characters becomes clear. The resolution completes your narrative by showing how characters have changed and what they've learned.

Your story's theme—its universal message or lesson—should emerge naturally from these final sections. While you've been building toward this theme throughout your narrative, it's in the resolution that readers fully understand what your story has to say about human nature, society, or historical events.

A satisfying ending for historical fiction often connects the past to universal human experiences. It might show how historical events shaped individual lives, how people found courage during difficult times, or how social attitudes have evolved (or remained the same) over time.

Theme development: Your theme can be explicit (directly stated) or implicit (suggested through events and character development). Ask yourself: Have I developed this theme consistently throughout my narrative? Is the message universal enough that readers can connect with it? Would someone reading my story identify the theme I intended?

Review your complete narrative to ensure it has artistic unity—every character, conflict, and event should contribute to a cohesive whole that supports your theme and provides a satisfying conclusion to your historical journey.